Sight Unseen
by kate657
Summary: The grade ten students of Tree Hill High have all recorded messages for their time capsule to be opened at their tenyear reunion. Now someone has released the time capsule. A devastating truth is revealed and an unsuspected betrayal is brought to light.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 **

Nathan walked out of his third period classroom and smiled as he saw his brother leaning against his girlfriend's locker. He figured they were waiting for him and he walked up and put his arm around Brooke's shoulder. She smiled up at him and nuzzled his neck. "Hey, Nate. How was history?" Lucas asked.

"Boring," he replied. Brooke nodded in agreement. "How was cosmetology?"

"It was fine. Not boring, but not really very interesting," Brooke replied. They leaned in to each other and started kissing completely forgetting that Lucas was there.

"Well, math was fine. Thanks for asking," Lucas said. Nathan broke the kiss and looked at Lucas. Lucas' cheeks were red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Luke. Forgot you were standing there," Nathan said.

"Yeah, that much is obvious," Lucas said.

"Well, I'd never forget you were standing somewhere," his girlfriend, Anna Tegarro, said. Lucas smiled and planted a kiss on her mouth.

"How was bio?" Brooke asked Anna. Nathan caught a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Sometimes Brooke's behaviour towards Anna confused him. Anna was part of their group now that she was dating Lucas and, yeah, she was younger, but she was pretty cool in Nathan's opinion. Anna Tegarro was a grade nine student but she was very smart. Especially when it came to biology. She was in his grade ten chemistry class.

"It was fine. I'm kind of dreading chemistry, though," she said. Nathan nodded.

"You and me both," he said in agreement. Anna laughed.

"Ask me to explain mitosis and I could tell you in my sleep. But ask me to tell you how to calculate a mole and you might as well be asking me to explain mitosis speaking Ancient Egyptian. It's impossible," Anna said. Just then, Haley James walked in between them and made her way to her locker. "Oh, Haley. Thank God!" Haley turned her attention to Anna and smiled at all of them.

"Hey, Anna," Haley said as she grabbed her chemistry textbook and binder.

"Hi. Um, you didn't happen to study for today's test, did you?" Anna asked. Haley looked at her in confusion.

"I have three tests today. You're going to have to be a bit more specific," Haley replied, laughing as she closed her locker.

"The chemistry test that we have next period," Anna explained, gesturing to herself, Haley and Nathan.

"Yeah. Why?" Haley said.

"Do you mind explaining some of the stuff to me?" Anna asked. Haley shrugged and nodded.

"Sure. Which part?" Haley asked. Anna bit her lip.

"Pretty much all of it," Anna replied. Haley cracked a smile.

"No problem. Actually, Mr. Delfino said that it was ok for me to conduct a study session today in class," Haley said.

"But the test is today," Nathan said. Haley shook her head.

"Thanks to me, not anymore," Haley replied, winking an eye.

"Are you serious?" Nathan asked. Haley shook her head.

"How did you pull that off?" Anna asked.

"Well, I just explained that a lot of the students I was tutoring came to me over the week voicing their concerns with the material. A lot of them were having trouble understanding it so he said I could help everyone with it," Haley said. Nathan smiled.

"Well, thanks," Anna said. Haley shrugged it off and walked away. Anna turned to Nathan and smiled widely. "How awesome is that? She saved my life."

"It is pretty amazing," Nathan commented.

"And you're in good hands with Haley. She is a whiz at practically every subject. If she hadn't helped me in English and the physics unit in science last year, I would have failed grade nine," Brooke said. She gave Nathan a quick peck on the cheek before leaving with Lucas to their Media Arts course.

Nathan walked up to Haley. "Thanks a lot for your help, Haley," he said. He held out his hand and Haley took it. She smiled at him sweetly.

"You're welcome. And about what Neil said: he's wrong. You're not stupid," Haley said. Nathan had never really been good in chemistry but his mother wanted him to take science courses. He rarely understood any of the concepts right away. They always had to be explained to him multiple times by the teacher. So he had asked a question that turned a few heads. Neil Young had said that if he didn't understand that simple fact, he really was just a dumb jock.

"Thanks. I didn't know that that was so simple," Nathan said almost apologetically. Haley scrunched her eyebrows at him.

"You sound like you're apologizing to me," she said.

"I am. I didn't mean to waste your time," he said, nodding. Haley shook her head.

"You knew that you didn't know what that was and you asked for help. You shouldn't feel like you need to apologize for admitting that you don't know something. You'd be surprised by the number of people who don't admit it," Haley said.

Nathan smiled in surprise at her kind words. He knew that Haley was a very kind person but he had no idea she could be so nice. Everyone in the school seemed to like her in some way, but she wasn't really given that much attention. The thing that surprised him the most about her was the fact that she was friendly to everyone but had no affiliation with any particular group in the school. Most of time, you would find her in the quad quietly reading under a tree. He watched her walk out of the classroom and silently followed her. Their lockers were practically right next to each other's since he had switched with Jake Jagielski.

Nathan's original locker was next to Peyton Sawyer-Jagielski's and Jake's was in between Brooke's and Haley's lockers. Nathan wanted to be close to Brooke and Jake wanted to be close to his wife. So they had agreed to switch lockers. He then looked at the television in the hallway and was surprised to see Neil Young on the screen. There was a navy blue background behind him that seemed familiar to Nathan. As Neil opened his mouth to speak on the screen, the reason for the familiarity of the background was because he'd been in the same place that Neil was now on the screen. When he had recorded his time capsule.

"So you want to know about me. Fine. I will tell you the unvarnished truth. I am Neil Young and I hate high school. I don't mean in the usual 'this-is-something-I-have-to-do-so-I-hate-it' way. I mean I actually hate it. Or rather I hate the people here because they're all so fake. Nobody tells the truth anymore. And I mean no one. The people in this school need to stop hiding themselves because they don't realize that everyone is doing it. People claim to know their friends so well when their friends are only portraying the person that they think people will like which is pointless because the people who they're trying to impress are doing the same thing. It just gets on my nerves because when I meet someone, nine times out of ten the face their showing me is not their real one. Take Tim Smith, for example. Tim fits your basic jock persona. He's dumb, he's an ass, he acts like he's God's gift to women. But it would probably interest you to know that he actually goes for his own kind, if you know what I mean."

He went on to reveal that while at her old school, Anna Tegarro, Lucas' girlfriend, had an abortion at her old school. People found out about it, called her a murderer so her family packed up and moved to Tree Hill. He also made fun of some of the "dumb jocks" as he called them, including Nathan himself. He could see some his friends were pissed off, but Nathan just shrugged it off. It was no secret that Nathan wasn't very smart. He had never claimed to be a genius. Sure it sucked that everyone knew he was failing some of his classes but at least he was doing something about it. It was his next words that shocked Nathan.

"_Haley James has a reputation as being one of the nicest girls in the school. She accepts everyone for who they were but it's only because her parents didn't accept her for who she was. When she was born, her parents took one look at her and died just to escape her. For her entire life, Haley bounced around from foster home after foster home and every time they would send her on her way because she's unwanted. Now she lives alone." _

Nathan turned his head towards Haley who was leaning against her locker, staring up at the television in misery. Tears were trickling down her face. Haley just didn't understand why Neil had to be so cruel. She had never, ever done anything to warrant the way he insulted her. She was always nice to him, had even tutored him and this was how he treated her in return? She shook her head in disappointment at him. She took a deep breath as it switched to Holly Parison talking about how she dreamed of being an actress. Haley smirked at the girl's enthusiasm. The next one was Nathan.

"_I am happier than I've ever been. I am finally getting help in school after years of not admitting that I needed it. I have a great girlfriend and even though I would never admit it right now, I am proud to call Lucas my brother. He'll make a great best man at mine and Brooke's wedding. So right now, life is good. I have no complaints._"

Haley caught Nathan looking at her sympathetically. She smiled at him appreciatively. "Aww," she teased. He laughed, rolled his eyes and looked at the screen again. Peyton and Jake did a joint time capsule.

"_So I'm Jake Jagielski," Jake said. _

"_And I'm Peyton Jagielski," Peyton said. _

"_And we're married," they said together. Jake put his arm around Peyton and pulled her closer. Peyton leaned down and put her hands to lift something up. She revealed a small infant. "This is our daughter, Jenny Jagielski. She is our whole world and we hope that in ten years, she'll have a few siblings." _

"I also hope that I've won the lottery by that time," Jake added. Peyton laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

Haley burst out laughing. Jake was probably the funniest guy she knew. His humour was expected but each time, she still found herself shocked at some of the things she said. The she gulped as she recognized the blue t-shirt she had worn that day. It was her time capsule now.

"I'm Haley James. I have ups and downs just like everyone else. I tend to have a lot more downs than ups but I try not to let all that bother me because I figure: what's the point in worrying about something that I have absolutely no control over?"

Nathan looked at her and nodded. Then he turned back and watched the rest.

"_A lot of people in the school know who I am and yet no one really knows me. But that's fine because I don't really know myself right now. I don't know where I'll end up in ten years. This may come as a shock but I don't have all the answers. Mainly because I'm still trying to figure things out._"

Then Lucas Scott appeared on the screen. He muttered something about his aspirations in basketball and how he'd even be happy to coach a team because he looked up to Whitey. Then he talked about the girl he loved. A lot of people cooed about that. Haley turned around and smiled as Anna was walking down the hall beaming.

"_Hopefully in ten years, I'll be married to the girl I love: Brooke Davis_," on camera Lucas said.

Then Brooke's time capsule came onto screen.

"_Right now I'm happiest I've ever been and I'm also the saddest. See there's this guy that I really love. He's always been there for me; supported me, comforted me, done every thing I've ever asked of him no matter how ridiculous or silly. He's my boyfriend. But I've betrayed him. See, cause there's this other guy that I am in love with who just happens to be my boyfriend's brother. I wish that we didn't have to hide or sneak around. Does that make me a horrible person? I am in love with him and I can only hope that in ten years, we're married and have started a family. I dream of having Lucas Scott's children." _

Silence enveloped the hallway as Lucas and Brooke walked towards Nathan. Brooke put her hand on his shoulder but Nathan pulled away. He turned around to look at them. His eyes were full of anger and betrayal. "Nathan," Lucas began. Nathan just shook his head.

"Don't bother, Lucas," Nathan spat. Then he looked at Brooke who looked away after a second. He sighed. "I trusted you two. I loved you and I looked up to you. How could you do this to me?" Then the principal came on to the PA system.

"Given this afternoon's events, classes are dismissed for the rest of the day and school will be closed tomorrow. Have a safe weekend," the principal said.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The drama starts to unfold in this story. Angry Nathan must look past his anger and work with Lucas to find Brooke after the school is shot up by a disgruntled student. They split up and he stumbles upon someone he does not expect. Leave some words. Enjoy )

Chapter 2 

Neil Young walked into Tree Hill High the next Monday morning wearily. As he passed down the hallway, he noticed several of his fellow classmates glaring at him. Some were angry at him and others pitied him. Ever since the time capsule had been released and people had heard what he had to say about everyone, high school had been different and it had not even been a whole week. In fact, it was the first day back. The school had given them a half day and a full day off in order to do some damage control.

On Saturday and Sunday, Neil's phone had rung a lot and when he picked it up, the person on the other end would immediately hung up. He wasn't stupid. He knew they were crank calls. And on Sunday afternoon, he had gone to the local music store to pick up a CD; he had run into some of the football and basketball players. He shuddered as he remembered what happened in the alley they had chased him into.

He was at his locker and fumbled with the combination. He always seemed to forget the middle number. It was 20 and for some reason, he would always put it to 30. Once he got the combination right, he opened his locker and began emptying his bag, exchanging books and putting his lunch on the top shelf. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he froze in fearful anticipation of what was about to happen. But for some reason, nothing did happen.

There were whistles as someone walked down the hall and Neil was curious so he turned to see Tim Smith walking down the hallway, staring at the floor. Some of the other guys on the basketball team were making comments and Neil felt a twinge of guilt. It was his fault that Tim was being harassed. He had let it slip that he was gay on the time capsule. Neil decided to turn back around before he antagonized Tim. Tim looked so agitated; Neil was surprised that he didn't explode. That was when it happened. A deafening sound exploded and Neil felt a something hit him or rather, go through him. It hit his back and Neil reached down and wiped his hand against his right chest. He brought his hand back and widened his eyes at the red fluid on it; blood.

Three more shots rang out in the air. Other students in the hallway ran in every direction to get away from the gunman. Neil slumped against his locker and the world went black.

Nathan was in the weight room lifting some weights with Skills standing over him. Then someone came into the room and Skills moved away. Nathan looked up to see Lucas standing over him. He put the weight back on the bars and got up. He grabbed a towel and wiped his neck. He got up and started for the door. "Nathan, come on," Lucas said. The desperation in his brother's voice made him turn around.

"What?" he asked. His nostrils flared in anger. He could barely stand being in the same room with Lucas right now. He would not look him in the eyes.

"Where were you this weekend? Mom was about ready to call the cops and report you missing," Lucas asked.

"If I stayed under the same roof as you, it would've ended with me punching the living daylights out of you and I figured it would be hard on Mom to see that. So, I decided to stay away," he said. Lucas looked down.

"You could've called and told us where you were," Lucas said.

"I called this morning," Nathan said.

"Oh," Lucas said. Nathan started to leave. "Anna dumped me." Nathan turned around and smiled wickedly at him.

"And I just dumped Brooke. Funny how those things happen when you fool around. But look on the bright side: now you two can be together," Nathan said. Lucas sighed.

"We didn't want to hurt anyone, Nate," Lucas said. Nathan laughed bitterly. "I'm serious. You're my brother and the last person in the world I wanted to hurt."

"Not anymore, I'm not," Nathan said

"Nathan," Lucas began but Nathan cut him off.

"And what about Anna, Luke?" he asked. Lucas looked at him in confusion. "Before I met Brooke, I was an asshole. I treated girls like they were around for my convenience. I used them and then threw them away. I even saw more than two girls at a time. But I changed once I met Brooke because I wanted to be a better guy for her. So, in a way, I guess I had this coming. But Anna?"

"I didn't want to hurt Anna. I really care about her," Lucas said. Then they heard a loud noise followed by screaming. "What the hell?" Lucas walked to the door to open it, but Nathan stopped him. Then three more shots rang out.

"Those were gunshots," Nathan said. Lucas' eyes widened with fear as he grabbed his cell phone and dialled 911. He started talking to the operator but the operator thought it was a crank call. Lucas turned it on speaker phone.

"This line is reserved for real emergencies," the operator repeated.

"Does it sound like I'm ordering Chinese?" Lucas exclaimed to the woman. Then Nathan grabbed the phone from Lucas and opened the door a crack so the operator could hear the people screaming in the hallways. He closed the door again.

"Did you hear that? Yeah, those were our classmates screaming in terror because someone has a _gun_ in our school and is shooting. If that's not a _real_ emergency, then what is?" Nathan growled into the phone. The operator apologized and told him to stay put and Nathan scoffed at her in response. "Maybe you can sit around while the people you care about our scared or possibly bleeding to death, but I can't." He hung up the phone and looked around for something. He smirked when he saw a bat and grabbed it.

"Nathan, what the heck are you doing?" Lucas asked as he watched his brother going for the door.

"I'm going after Brooke. She's here somewhere," Nathan said. He opened the door and Lucas closed it. "What?"

"Nathan, you can't possibly think you're going to be the big hero and save Brooke. A bat is no match against a whacko with a gun," Lucas said.

"I'm certainly not going to sit on my hands. Brooke could be hurt or trapped with that psycho. I'm going after her and if you really cared about her like you say you do…" Nathan started.

"I love her, Nathan," Lucas confirmed.

"Then you would help me," Nathan said. Lucas needed no more encouragement as he grabbed two bats and followed Nathan out into the vacant hallway. They came to the end of the hallway and could either go right or left.

"Which way?" Lucas asked.

"Both," Nathan replied, looking down the hall to the right.

"Come again?" Lucas asked.

"We should split up," Nathan said.

Lucas kept going down the hallway until he reached the library. He tightened his hands around the bat and headed in slowly and cautiously. He checked down each row of books until he came to the study area. A book fell off one of the tables. He walked over to the sound. He neared the corner.

"Lucas, it's me!" Brooke exclaimed. Lucas sighed with relief and put the bat down. He kneeled down and Brooke threw herself in his arms.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No. Oh, I'm so glad to see you. I heard the shot and people came running in this direction. I turned around and headed for the closest exit but it was chained shut. Then more shots rang out and I thought they were coming this way so I headed in here," Brooke said brokenly into his shoulder.

"It's ok. We're going to get out of here," Lucas promised though he had no idea how he was going to get out of here.

Peyton Jagielski wandered the halls in a panic. She was looking for Jake but couldn't find him. "Peyton, what are you doing?" A voice exclaimed. She turned around and saw Nathan, with a bat in one hand, walking towards her.

"I'm looking for Jake. We were in our English class with other students. Jake left to get help ten minutes ago and I got worried so…" Peyton said.

"So you decided to wander the halls, looking for him, with a psycho with a gun on the loose," Nathan finished for her. His tone was full of disapproval. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I went looking for my husband because I'm worried about him. Kind of like how you're looking for Brooke," Peyton shot back. Nathan nodded in understanding. They turned into another hallway and Peyton felt her heart jump to her throat. Jake was bent over with blood stains on his shirt.

"Jake!" she exclaimed quietly and went running to him. Jake turned just in time for Peyton to throw herself into his arms.

"I told you to stay put," he said as she continued to sob against him.

"Jake, are you all right?" Nathan asked. Jake gave him a confused look and Peyton gestured to his shirt.

"Oh. It's not my blood. It's his," Jake said, gesturing to the form lying behind him.

"God, is that Neil?" Peyton asked, looking at him. Jake nodded.

"Is he…?" Nathan asked and Jake nodded.

"He's dead," he replied. Nathan explained that he was going to keep looking for Brooke. Jake called after him. "Thanks for bring her to me safely." Nathan nodded. He turned another hallway and found a trail of blood. An overwhelming fear that it could be Brooke's blood shook him. He followed the trail to the tutoring centre.

He opened the door slowly to peak to see if anyone was inside. It looked empty but he saw the blood trail go to behind the large oak desk. He walked in and held the door until it closed. He walked carefully to the desk and was about to turn and face whoever was behind it when he felt something hard slam his chest. He went down in an instant. He groaned in pain while still on the ground. He looked over and saw Haley James.

"Nathan, I'm so sorry. I thought you were him," Haley said. Her voice shook with emotion like she had been crying. He looked around to see where the blood was and then his eyes rested on her leg. Haley followed his gaze and chuckled.

"You were shot?" he asked. Haley nodded.

"Not once, but twice, in the leg," Haley explained. Nathan looked down at the leg and sure enough, the tourniquet Haley had made had blood coming out of it in two places. She started to explain brokenly how she had been walking to her locker when the window of the door that she was about to open shattered. That bullet had ricocheted off of the wall and hit her in the leg. The second bullet hit her after she was on the floor from the first one.

"And you crawled into here," Nathan said. Haley nodded. He started to get up and held out a hand for her. "Well, we need to get out of here." Haley shook her head.

"I can't walk on it, Nathan. I already tried before I got in here," Haley said.

"I'll carry you," Nathan said. She shook her head.

"There's no way I'm going out there to get shot a third time. I'm staying here until the police come and get me," Haley said.

"Well, I've got to find Brooke," Nathan said.

"Good luck," Haley said. Then his phone went off. He looked at it and sighed with relief.

"Brooke's in the library with Lucas," Nathan said.

"Are they ok?" Haley asked. Nathan nodded. "Good."

"Have you seen Anna?" Nathan asked realizing he hadn't seen her anywhere. Haley smirked.

"Smart girl stayed home today," Haley replied. He walked closer and sat down beside her.

"Then I'll stay and wait for the police with you," Nathan said and smiled at her. Haley nodded.

"Nathan," Haley said a few minutes later.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking at her.

"The shooter," Haley said, "It's Tim Smith."

"Oh, man," Nathan said.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This chapter only includes Nathan and Haley while they're hiding in the Tutoring Centre. Leave some words. Enjoy )

Chapter 3 

"Are you ok?" Haley asked. They had been sitting in silence for almost thirty minutes. One thing Haley hated more than anything was awkward silences. She usually wracked her brains to find something, anything to talk about even when she didn't really want to discuss the subject she came up just to avoid them. But this silence was not awkward. It was comfortable. In a way, it was almost soothing.

Nathan chuckled. "You're the one with two holes in her leg and you're asking me if I'm ok?" he asked in a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

"I know that Tim is on the team with you," she said, shrugging.

"So?" he asked. "We're on the same team but that doesn't mean we're friends."

"But aren't you? I've seen you together," Haley said.

"We have friends in common but we're not friends," he stated. "How are you holding up?" Haley looked around, observing their surroundings. Then she looked at her throbbing leg. She looked back at him and smiled.

"Oh, I'm just peachy," she remarked. Nathan laughed.

"I guess that was a stupid question," he said, getting her point. Haley nodded in agreement. Nathan's cell phone beeped again. He reached into his pocket and looked at it. "It's Lucas. He's wondering where I am." Then he put his cell phone down.

"Aren't you going to tell him?" she asked. Nathan nodded as he lifted the phone up again and started punching numerous buttons.

"So what do you want to do?" he asked. Haley shrugged. "I'm getting pretty bored. I know I should be thankful that Tim hasn't found us in here but still."

"It is pretty boring. But I can't do much in my current state," she said.

"You can play a game, can't you?" Nathan asked. Haley smiled.

"What game did you have in mind?" she asked. Nathan stopped to think for a minute.

"How about 'I Never'?" he suggested. Haley's brow wrinkled in confusion. "It's that game where everyone takes a turn saying something they've never done and if someone has, they have to drink." Haley nodded in understanding. Then she looked around.

"Drink what?" she asked. He was about to answer when she laughed. "I know you meant beer, Nathan. I'm not that naïve. I meant, what are _we_ supposed to drink?" He shrugged.

"I don't know," he admitted.

"How about we put a whole kibosh on the 'I Never' idea. It sounds like a game invented for the sole purpose of getting drunk anyways," Haley said.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked, slightly insulted by what he thought she was insinuating. She shrugged.

"Well, nothing, except that I don't drink," she replied. He sighed. She looked at him in curiosity. "You thought I was frowning on people who do get drunk, didn't you?"

"Yeah," he admitted.

"One thing I don't do, Nathan," she said, "is judge people."

"Never?" he asked.

"I'm not in any position to judge people," Haley said. He looked at her in confusion.

"Who is?" he asked.

"Anyone who's never committed a sin," Haley said.

"Are you religious?" he asked.

"Why?" she asked.

"Cause that sounds like something right out of the bible," he replied. Haley laughed.

"No, I'm not religious. But I have my own beliefs," Haley said. She shifted her position against the desk. Big mistake. "Oh, damn it!" Nathan looked at her in concern. She looked down at her leg.

"Let me see," he said.

"Go for it," she said. He got up and kneeled at her legs. "But if you hurt me, I'll hit you again." She was holding the textbook she had used to swat him when he first came in, in a threatening position. He smiled. He untied the tourniquet.

"What did you use to make this with?" he asked.

"My sweater," Haley replied, gesturing to the pieces of fabric thrown onto the chair of the desk. "And I just bought it yesterday too." Nathan cracked another smile as he lifted up the leg of her jeans. Haley twitched as his rough hands touched her leg.

"Sorry," he said. He looked at her leg and made a face. "That looks bad." He rolled her pant leg down again and retied the tourniquet using a different piece of the sweater. "There you go." When there was no acknowledgement, he looked up and noticed that Haley was slumped against the desk.

"Haley!" he exclaimed as he crawled over to her. There was no response. He moved her head gently and shook her a little. "Haley!" Her huge hazel eyes fluttered open and looked at him in confusion.

"Nathan?" she asked. Then she remembered. "What happened?"

"You zoned out for a minute," Nathan replied. Haley breathed in and looked around.

"Sorry. I'm just really tired all of a sudden," she said.

"You have lost quite a bit of blood," he said. Then he looked at her. She was really pale. "Maybe it's time to get you out of here." Haley shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said.

"You don't look too good," Nathan said.

"Nathan, in situations like these, the school goes into lockdown. The police are doing they're job. It won't be much longer," she said. He clucked his tongue nervously. He looked at her in concern and doubt. She just smirked. "I'll be fine."

"I don't know," he said uncertainly.

"Well, I do," Haley said.

"You'll tell me if you start to get light-headed?" he asked, searching her face.

"Of course," she promised.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 

"I have math this period," Nathan said as the final bell for second period rang. Haley smiled.

"I have biology," Haley said. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Don't you also have chemistry with me and Anna?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Science nerd, are you?" he teased. She scowled at him.

"Funny," she commented. Nathan chuckled.

"I was only kidding," he said.

"No, you weren't," Haley said in a light tone.

"Okay, maybe not," he said.

"Hey, it's ok. I'm not offended. And yes, I enjoy science. It's a great…" she started to say but her sentence trailed off as her eyes rolled up and she fell hard against the desk. Nathan reached over and cradled her head.

"Haley!" he exclaimed. Her eyes opened after he shook her a few times. "That's it. It's time to get you out of here." He started to get up and bent down to lift her up but Haley shrank back.

"Nathan, don't be stupid. Tim is still out there," Haley said.

"I know that, Haley, but that's the second time you passed out. You've lost too much blood for us to just sit around and wait for the police to decide to come in and get us and even then, they may not find us," Nathan said.

"But," Haley started.

"No buts. We're leaving so you can go to the hospital," Nathan said. He lifted her up and left the room. Once in the hall, he slowed his pace and walked as lightly as he could. After a few minutes, he stopped walking.

"What's wrong?" Haley whispered.

"I can't leave them here," Nathan said.

"Who?" she asked.

"Brooke and Luke. They're still here. In the library," he said.

"So let's go get them," Haley said. Nathan shook his head.

"I'll get them. You need to get out of here," he said. Haley looked at him incredulously.

"And how am I going to do that? I can't just close my eyes, put my feet together, say 'there's no place like home' and pop home. I can't even walk!" Haley said.

"Calm down. I'm going to get Jake and Peyton. They'll bring you out," he said. Haley nodded.

"Where are they?" Haley asked. Nathan shrugged.

"They're around here somewhere," he said. Haley pulled onto his shirt in an attempt to get him to stop moving. He did and looked down at her in confusion.

"We can't roam around the school without knowing where we're going," Haley said.

"We're going to find Jake," Nathan said.

"Yeah, except that you don't know where he is. He could be anywhere. In any classroom," Haley started.

"I know which is why we need to hurry," Nathan interrupted.

"And so could Tim," Haley finished. Nathan deflated.

"Right," he said in agreement. "I guess I'll just bring you along and hope to hell that Lucas and Brooke had the brains to stay put."

Ten minutes later, Nathan walked into the library with a very dizzy Haley in his arms. He looked around and heard some heavy breathing behind a bookshelf. He walked over and felt like the wind had been knocked out of him as he saw Brooke and Lucas in a major lip lock. "Ahem," he said. They broke apart instantly. Lucas instinctively reached for the bat.

"It's me, Lucas," Nathan said through gritted teeth.

"Nathan," Brooke said with a sigh relief. "You're ok."

"I'm not doing as well as you are but I'm alright," he said. He kneeled down and put Haley onto the floor.

"What's she doing here?" Brooke asked, looking at Haley. Haley just looked at her leg in response. "Oh, my god, Haley. You've been shot!" Haley couldn't help but smile.

"Really? I hadn't noticed," she replied, chuckling. Then her laughter died and her head smacked against one of the bookshelves.

"Not again," Nathan said as he came over and shook her a few times. "Haley!" He shook her harder. There was still no response.

"Nathan, what are you doing?" Lucas asked.

"I'm trying to wake her up," Nathan replied, explaining that this method had worked twice before.

"She's passed out more than once and you're moving her around the school?" Lucas asked in amazement.

"It's a long story," Nathan replied. Brooke moved him away and attempted to shake Haley on her own.

"Sometimes you need a woman's touch," she offered as explanation. Nathan rolled his eyes and fought the urge to ask her to point one out to him.

"Haley!" Brooke exclaimed in a singsong voice that she probably thought was soothing when to Nathan it was more akin to nails scraping against a chalkboard. "She's not waking up." Lucas came over and helped her. It didn't help. Haley was still. Nathan came over and pushed them both away from her. He shook her hard for a few seconds and her eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" she asked.

"At this point, do I really need to tell you?" he asked. Haley rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Again?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied.

"Can we get out of here now? I'm really not a fan of this whole passing out thing," Haley asked. Nathan laughed and nodded.

"Whoa! You're not actually going to walk through the halls, are you?" Lucas asked.

"Uh, yeah," Nathan replied looking at Haley. He bent down and lifted her up. "And you guys are coming too."

"It's way too dangerous, Nathan. What if we run into Tim? What are you going to do, throw Haley at him?" Brooke asked.

"I have to get her out of here," Nathan argued.

"It's too dangerous a risk," Lucas said.

"I don't care. I'm not going to let her die," Nathan said.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 

Haley looked around the halls as they passed by. She saw their chemistry class. It looked dark. In fact, now the entire school looked dark. And it wasn't because of Tim. Tim Smith was hardly the first student to express his rage at school. Many students had taken fits outside classroom doors or in the cafeteria or cried alone in the bathroom when they thought no one else was around. Haley had seen a lot of it as a tutor. Tim was just the first one to express his rage with a gun.

"How are you doing?" Nathan asked his blue eyes full of concern. Haley smiled at him wanly.

"I'll live," she replied simply and then rested her head against his shoulder. She could feel sleep pulling at her and she finally succumbed to it.

"Haley," Nathan whispered. He sighed when he realized that she had just slipped into an unconscious state again. He quickened his pace and they were finally outside the main entrance. Brooke and Lucas put their hands on their heads and walked slowly outside. Nathan just stood there while a few armed policemen came to check him out. He remembered the drills. If the school were ever in a hostage situation and you managed to get out, you were to put your hands on your heads and head towards the police. If you couldn't, just follow their instructions. And that's what Nathan did.

"Who is this, son?" An officer asked.

"Her name is Haley James," Nathan replied. He was instructed to go to the ambulance and a few paramedics strapped Haley to a stretcher and put her in the back.

"Do you want to ride with her?" a female paramedic asked. Nathan stopped to think.

"Yes," he replied. After everything they'd been through together, he knew he couldn't leave her alone. He needed to make sure she was actually ok.

"This girl is lucky," the paramedic said as she examined Haley's leg, "you probably saved her life." Nathan smiled on the inside and nodded to her on the outside. He had saved a life. Who would've thought?

Seven hours later…

Haley slowly opened her eyes and looked around. Right away she could see the telltale signs that she was in a hospital. The smell of disinfectant was so strong it was as if someone had put the bottle right up to her nose. She could also hear her heart monitor beeping. It was annoying but she figured she should be thankful. If it wasn't beating, that would mean she was dead and she hated that thought more than the incessant beeping. A door opened and closed.

"You're awake," Nathan Scott said as he came into view. He sat down beside her. His eyes were sparkling as he looked down at her.

"And you're here," she said. It came out harsh but she didn't intend it to. She cleared her throat. "I figured you'd want to spend time with Brooke or even your family." Nathan laughed.

"Brooke is not my problem anymore. I guess, in a way, I should be thanking Lucas," Nathan said.

"What about your parents?" Haley asked.

"Oh, they're here," he replied. Haley's brow furrowed.

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, some dork called them and told them that I had been in an ambulance. They forgot to mention that I was just riding along. So, my parents freaked out. They got in their car and drove all the way over here only to find me in the cafeteria on their way up," Nathan said, laughing. Then the doctor came in and looked at her.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this," Haley said. The doctor cracked a smile.

"The surgery was a success. But your knee is never going to be what it used to be," he said.

"Meaning?" Haley asked.

"If you're an athlete, you're not going be much of one anymore. No sports teams," he said. Haley just laughed at him.

"Trust me, that won't be a problem. I'm too much of a klutz to be an athlete," she said in between giggles. The doctor smiled.

"Well, that's the first time I've heard that. It's refreshing," he said. Haley nodded.

"So when can I get out of here?" she asked.

"As soon as your parents give consent," he said. Nathan looked down and Haley shook her head.

"I don't have any," she replied. The doctor looked at her in surprise.

"I can always call Social Services," he suggested. Haley shook her head.

"That won't be necessary. Just give me the forms and I'll sign them," Haley said.

"You're a minor, Ms. James," he said.

"Then contact Social Services. Someone there will tell you that I have the authority to sign," she said. He nodded and got up. A few minutes later, a nurse returned with the forms and a change of clothing for Haley. Nathan left the room while she got ready and came back to find her with a pair of crutches. Haley turned to the nurse. "Do you mind calling a cab for me?" The nurse smiled.

"Don't bother," Nathan called after her. Haley looked at him in shock. "I can give you a ride home. My parents came in separate cars. My dad used mine."

"You don't have to do that," she said. Nathan smiled.

"I know. I want to," he said. Haley needed no more convincing.

"Ok," she said.

They got to her apartment door and Haley fished out her keys. She opened the door and crutched in. "Whoa. This place is nice," he said. When they walked in there was an open space to the left. It was divided into two rooms even though it was a huge room. The first was a dining area since there was a big oak table. Then further down, there was a couch, a chair and an entertainment system which consisted of a television, two VCRs and a DVD player.

When you turned to your right at the front door, you could see the small kitchen. If you walked further into the living room, you'd notice a small hallway. There was the bathroom on the right side and the bedroom on the left. Haley headed into her bedroom and left the door opened a little crack. "You really think so?" she called back.

"Yeah. It's a bit smaller than what I'm used to and probably small for your foster parents," he said. She came out in simple pink pyjamas with a spaghetti strap top.

"I don't have any foster parents. I live here alone," she said. He looked at her in surprise.

"You do? But you're sixteen. How is that possible?" he asked.

"I'm emancipated from the State. I have been for about six months," she replied. He nodded. "I got tired of bouncing around from foster home to foster home. I needed somewhere stable."

"I understand," he said.

"Thanks for the ride. You can go home if you want," she said.

"I'd rather stick around and hang out, if you don't mind," he said.

"I don't. But you do realize that right now I can't do a lot, right?" she asked, gesturing to her cast knee and the crutches she was leaning on. He smiled.

"You can watch television, can't you?" he asked. Haley's eyes brightened.

"And I just got a new digital cable package," she said excitedly.

"Does it include the movie network channels?" he asked.

"Of course. That's why I chose it," she said. Haley came over and sat down on the couch beside him. She leaned her crutches against the wall beside the couch. They picked a movie and watched it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 

Lucas Scott walked into school with his arm looped through Brooke's as she half leaned onto his shoulder as they walked through the hall. The school board probably thought it was good to give the students a chance to rest and calm down after the shooting. And some people did. But most people used it as an excuse to slack off and party all week. Lucas had spent most of the week with his new girlfriend. Well, she wasn't really new to him since they had been secretly seeing each other for almost two months but it was new to be out in public with her, especially at school.

He could feel some death glares coming from other students. The people who thought him and Brooke were horrible people for carrying on behind Nathan's back. And it was horrible but no one had the right to judge them. There were worse scandals than this but it was because that it was Brooke and Nathan that people were making such a big deal of it.

Brooke Davis and Nathan Scott had dated since the end of ninth grade and a lot of people had never seen it coming. Brooke was the popular, beautiful, but sweet cheerleader. She wasn't stuck up like the other cheerleaders. She was nice and caring. Nathan had been the all-around arrogant jock who went out with a girl once, had sex with them and then dumped them the morning after. And Brooke wasn't the type of girl that a guy would throw away. She was one that a guy had to treasure. Her beauty was overwhelming but she was smart too. That's why people had been shocked that she would agree to go out with Nathan. But she did and they became one of the most popular couples in the school. Nathan had changed for Brooke. He had become a good guy that Lucas always knew he could be given the right motivation. It just sucked that Lucas had fallen for her too. He loved his brother. Nathan and he had a bond that was irreplaceable and most people would agree that a girl wasn't worth throwing that away, but then, not many people recognized how special Brooke was.

"Luke," Brooke said softly. He looked at her questioningly and realized that she was staring at something. He followed his gaze to see Anna at her locker. She was in tears and Lucas felt like the biggest jerk in the world. He gave Brooke's shoulder a squeeze and untangled himself from her. He walked up to Anna's locker and leaned against the one beside it. Anna shot him a glare.

"Hey," he said. Anna looked at him incredulously and scoffed.

"Right," she said and viciously wiped her tears away.

"Anna," he started and she glared at him again, "I'm sorry. What do you want from me?"

"I want you to go to hell," she replied, slammed her locker door shut and walked away from him. Brooke came over and ran a hand across his cheek.

"She'll get over it. She just needs time," Brooke said.

"You think Nathan will?" he asked pointedly. Brooke looked down. Lucas softened.

"Nathan and I were over anyway, Lucas. If it hadn't been you, it would've been someone else. And if I hadn't found someone else, eventually Nathan would have. And I think he'll find someone now," she replied.

"I don't know. He loved you a lot. I don't think Nathan's ever really loved a girl before," he said.

"We all have first loves. Most of lose them," Brooke said casually.

"Was he yours?" Lucas asked. Brooke nodded.

"Was Anna yours?" she asked. He shrugged and Brooke looked at him for an explanation.

"It's complicated. Anna was the first one who loved me back, but I fell in love with you before I even met her," Lucas said. Brooke smiled. Then her smile faltered as she caught sight of Nathan. She nudged him and Lucas turned around to see Nathan walking in with Haley James.

"What are they doing together?" she asked.

"He has been hanging out with her ever since the shooting. I guess they bonded somehow in the tutoring centre," Lucas said with a shrug.

Haley was leaning on her crutches as Nathan handed her, her bag. "Thanks for giving me a ride. I don't think I could've made it all the way to my bus stop," she said with a laugh as they neared their lockers.

"No problem, Haley," Nathan said.

"So, um, I have to tell you something," Haley said. Nathan put his books in his locker and looked at her.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm not going to be able to study Saturday night," Haley said. Nathan kept the disappointment off his face and he nodded.

"Why not?" he asked, looking down at her. He hoped she didn't have a date and that's why she was blowing him off.

"I'm going to be knocked out," she replied.

"Excuse me?" he exclaimed. Some people turned their heads. Haley just laughed.

"I'm having surgery. Jeez," she said.

"Didn't you already have surgery?" he asked.

"Yeah but that was to put the little plate thing in my knee. This one is to take the bullets out," she said.

"They didn't do that when they put the plate in?" he asked. Haley shrugged.

"I kind of wished they had but they told me that if they removed the bullets so quickly after, it would cause more damage. My muscles were already damaged from the impact of the bullets. Removing them could've possibly torn the tissue because it was so weak," Haley said.

"So they waited until it healed more?" he asked.

"Yeah. Lucky me, eh? It's funny. I was in a car crash as I was about to be born and I didn't have to have any sort of procedure. But I get shot in the knee and I'm having two surgeries," she replied.

"You were in a car accident?" he asked. Haley looked down.

"My parents were hit by a car on the way to the hospital. My mom was in labour at the time," Haley replied. Nathan looked down and bit his lip.

"Sorry," he said. Haley smiled and shrugged it off.

"It's ok. You didn't know how they died," she said.

"I'm still sorry," he said. He glanced down the hallway and froze.

"Nathan?" she asked, fixing him with a confused look and waving her hand in front of his face. Nothing worked. So she followed his gaze and her heart broke for him. Not three feet away from them was Brooke and Lucas practically joined at the hip while walking down the hallway. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"So am I," she said softly.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: _It's taken me a while to get the wording right. I deleted it so many times, but I _finally_ finsihed it, proofread it, etc. Hope you like it. Leave some words. Enjoy_ :-)

**Chapter 7**

Nathan was still frozen to the spot as Brooke and Lucas caught sight of him. They shot him a weary look as they looked at each other inquiringly. They seemed to come to a silent agreement and then separated. They headed towards Nathan and Haley. "Hey," Brooke said.

Haley watched as his eyes darted to Brooke. His gaze was cold and wounded. "Hi," he managed to say. Haley could see his hand shaking.

"How are you doing?" Lucas asked. Nathan sighed and shook his head at the question.

He opened his mouth to answer but then closed it. He just looked at Brooke and then at Lucas and turned around, walked away with them staring after him. Then the first bell ring.

Haley stopped watching Nathan walk away. She turned back to her locker and scrunched her eyebrows because she couldn't see her bag. It was no longer on her shoulders. _Wait. Didn't I give it to Nathan to hold while I put my books away? _She nodded at her own question and reassured herself that Nathan had it. She was about to turn to his locker to ask him for it when she remembered that he wasn't there anymore.

She stared down the hallway, no longer able to see him. She was going to have to go after him. Then she looked down the other side of the hallway where the tutoring centre was. Then she looked down at her knee and slammed one of her crutches down on the ground as she exclaimed, "Oh, this is just great!"

◊

Nathan threw the ball and it went through the basket as if they had some sort of agreement. He was thankful that he had gym this period. It was a good way to get his frustration over seeing his brother and ex-girlfriend together. He could not believe that after what they did to him and Anna that they had the nerve to show up the week after the shooting and act like they had been dating for months. That thought made his anger build again. He started to wonder exactly how long they had fooled them. A few seconds later, Whitey had started yelling at him for some reason. He turned around and looked at him.

"Do you want to tell me why you just threw the ball at Aaron's head?" Whitey asked, his big voice booming with annoyance.

"I'm sorry, Coach," he replied and looked at Aaron apologetically.

Aaron shook his head. "Coach, it's ok. He didn't hurt me or anything. It was an accident. I don't even think Nathan knew he was throwing the ball at the time," he said.

"Why are you so distracted?" Whitey asked.

"I had a bad morning," Nathan replied. Whitey eyed him carefully and then shook his head.

"And?" Whitey asked.

"And I've been a little distracted," Nathan said.

"Troubles with your girlfriend?" Whitey teased, lifting an eyebrow on his wrinkled face. Nathan looked down. "Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. At least, not when you're in this gymnasium." Then he looked to the rest of the players.

"Now I've told you boys countless times to check your personal life at the door. I don't care if your girlfriend's pregnant, if you're just realizing your sexual preference, if mommy and daddy are fighting or whatever else passes as problems in your lives. That kind of crap should stay at home where it belongs. Basketball is not going to make those problems go away, I realize that, but at least I won't have to pay an ambulance bill for someone with a concussion because you've got your head up your ass," Whitey said. Some of the guys cracked a smile.

Whitey was known throughout the school as someone who would tell you exactly what he thought of you and he was not one censor his language either. He was as candid as they came and he had his own style when going about it too.

Just then, there was a knock on one of the gym doors. Right away, everyone knew this person was an outsider. When you wanted to come into the gym, you didn't knock, even if there was a class going on. You just walked in and went about your business. Nathan looked harder and could see crutches. The first thought that came into his mind was Haley but he shook his head, realizing that there was no conceivable reason that Haley would hobble all the way down to the gym, especially since the tutoring centre- which was her "class" right now- was on the other side of the school.

One of the doors opened and sure enough, Haley crutched in and looked around. "Miss James, what brings you here?" Whitey asked, looking her up and down, his eyes resting on her injured knee for a few seconds.

"I need to talk to Nathan. Is that ok, Whitey?" Haley replied, looking around the room, most likely searching for him. A few of the other students chuckled and Whitey cleared his throat.

"You're the only student who actually has permission to call me that," Whitey began and swallowed as he looked around at the other students, "However if you continue to do so in front of my class, Miss James, I will give you detention for the rest of the week." Whitey looked at her with an oddly soft gaze. Haley cracked a smile and shifted her weight onto the right crutch.

"You would seriously make me hobble all the way to detention for four days straight, long after my bus has left the school, thus causing me to hobble all the way home?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in astonishment.

"Well, I…" Whitey started, obviously flustered, and then turned to Nathan, "Scott, go talk." Nathan nodded and headed over to her. He held the door open and followed her into the hall.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You're a thief," Haley said accusingly. Nathan wrinkled his brow and Haley cracked a smile. "You had my book bag and left it in your locker. I need it."

"I'm so sorry, Haley. Hold on a second. Just let me go tell Coach," Nathan said, heading back into the gymnasium. He came back a few seconds later.

"Thanks," she said as he helped her up from the bench she had sat down on.

"So why does Coach let you call him 'Whitey'?" Nathan asked.

Haley smirked as she said, "It's a long story."

"Well, we have a long walk ahead of us especially at the rate you're going. Jeez, a wounded snail is probably faster than you," he quipped. Haley scowled at him and stopped.

"Have you ever been shot in the leg before?" she asked. Nathan went silent. "I didn't think so. So when you've been shot in the same leg twice, gone through plate surgery and dealt with the constant excruciating pain, then you can mock my speed all you want. Until then, shut up."

Nathan was speechless. "I'm sorry," he said. Haley cracked a smile.

"Man, guys are so easy," she commented.

"That wasn't funny," he said.

"Uh, actually it was. Whitey and his wife, Camilla, were my last foster parents. After she died while I was there and Whitey slipped into a depression, I was taken out of their house because it was considered an 'unsuitable environment'. Anyways, while I was there, I would call him 'coach' and he got annoyed so he told me to start calling him 'Whitey' and I have ever since," Haley retorted.

"I never would've pictured him as the type to be a foster parent," Nathan said. Haley laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, he wasn't. Camilla was and I was their first and last foster kid," she replied.

"He must've taken a liking to you if he let you call him 'Whitey'," Nathan commented.

"I guess he did. Or maybe it was that I spent a lot of time with Camilla while he was away or whatever," Haley said.

"No, he likes you," Nathan said. They continued to walk in silence for a while until they came to their lockers.

"So, how is gym?" Haley asked. Nathan smiled.

"Haley, if you want to ask how I am, you can," he replied.

"Really? Because I would be annoyed with everybody constantly asking me how I am. Actually, I do get annoyed," she said, gesturing to her leg.

"You're not just anyone," he said. Haley looked at him in interest. "You're a good friend." She chuckled.

"Okay, _friend_. How are you doing?" she asked.

"Honestly?" he asked.

"Uh, hopefully, otherwise this isn't much of a friendship," she commented.

"I know I should be pissed about it and I guess a part of me is given how I walked away like that, but I'm… indifferent," he said thoughtfully.

"Maybe the pain is too raw," she suggested. He looked at her.

"Maybe, but I don't think it is. I mean, when I first found out, I was mad as hell. I wanted to kill Lucas and find a way to really hurt Brooke. I spent so much time being devoted to her and she just played me," Nathan said.

"I guess Neil was right," Haley said. Nathan looked at her quizzically. "Well, I remember in his time capsule he mentioned that nine times out of ten the face people are showing you isn't their real one. I think in a way, he had it nailed. It is so hard to tell who somebody really is because you really just never know if they're being sincere. Take Brooke, for example. She seemed like she really loved you and that she wanted to be with you and I guess, at one point, she did but then… she said what she said on her capsule and I could tell that she really meant it."

Nathan looked away. "I'm sorry," she said.

"No, it's ok. I know that they both meant it," Nathan said.

"It's so scary to think that people can act so well the way Brooke and Lucas did. Neil really did know what he was talking about," Haley said.

"In some respects, he did. But he was wrong about you," Nathan said.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Neil said that you didn't really care about everyone but he was wrong. When people approach you for help or advice, you don't hold back. You do everything you can and nothing less," he said.

"Thanks for saying that," she said, taking her book bag from him.

"I'm not just saying it. I don't do that kind of thing," Nathan said. Haley just nodded.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Wednesday night (4 days after Haley's surgery)..._

Haley got out of the cab and knocked on Nathan's front door. A few minutes passed until she finally heard a girl giggling and a guy talking somewhat incoherently through the door and she saw a hand reach out and touch the window pane. The door opened and Haley sighed as she saw Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked. It was obvious that he and Brooke had been "busy" by the annoyed tone of his voice.

"Is Nathan home?" Haley asked kindly, ignoring the feeling of putting the jerk in his place. Brooke looked her over and smirked.

"What do you want to see him for?" she asked. If Haley didn't know better, she could've sworn that by the look in Brooke's eyes that she was jealous.

"That's for me to know. Is he here?" Haley replied.

"Hold on a sec," Lucas said. He walked back inside and upstairs to Nathan's room. He tapped on the door. Nathan rolled his eyes at the familiar sound of his brother's annoying little knock.

"Go away, Luke. I'm really not in the mood to argue with you right now," Nathan called through the door. The door opened and Nathan put his magazine down and glared at his brother in annoyance.

"Normally, I would try to change your mind on that but there's someone at the door for you and I don't think it's polite to argue in front of company," Lucas said.

Nathan's eyes clouded with confusion. "Who?" he asked.

"Haley," Lucas replied.

"Seriously?" Nathan asked, his voice giving off a little hint of the excitement he was feeling. Lucas raised his eyebrows at him.

"No, I'm lying to get you out of your room," Lucas replied sarcastically as he led the way downstairs. Nathan went to the door and smiled at Haley. He turned around and glared at Brooke and Lucas who took the opportunity and disappeared.

"Come on in," Nathan said, opening the door as Haley came inside.

"Thanks. I was beginning to wonder if Brooke and Lucas wanted to me to freeze my ass off out there," Haley said.

"Where are your crutches?" Nathan asked, suddenly noticing their absence.

"Oh, you noticed," Haley said with a light chuckle at the expression on his face. She gestured to her knee which was now covered with a cast from the foot to the top of her knee. "They gave me a walking cast so no more crutches for me."

"That's great. But do you have to sleep in that thing?" Nathan asked. Haley's nose wrinkled at the thought.

"No, it's Velcro. They have me wrapped in some sort of material underneath it so I can take the cast off at night and when I shower, etc. They taught me how to wrap it again and even gave me the materials," Haley said as they headed into the living room, avoiding walking into the kitchen.

"That's great news. You were a calamity with those crutches. Always falling," Nathan said, smiling at the indignant look that crossed her face. Then she looked around the house and whistled.

"So is this the weekend house?" Haley joked. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"It's pretty big," Nathan said.

"Humongous. This place could fit like three of my apartment in it," she said, sitting down on one of the EZ chairs.

"None of your foster parents lived lives of luxury?" Nathan asked, sitting down on the couch. Haley stopped to think for a minute.

"Actually, one of them did," Haley replied.

"And?" Nathan asked.

"I was gone within three weeks. Apparently a girl from the south side of town cramped their style," Haley replied.

"Sorry," he said. Haley smirked.

"Do I look like I'm losing sleep over it? If you want to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for their real kid," Haley said.

"They had a kid of their own," Nathan said slowly.

"A son named Devon. He's about… Damn, he's got to be about thirteen now!" Haley exclaimed in disbelief.

"I take it you bonded," Nathan said.

"Sure. He was nice. Lord knows where he got that from," she commented. A door opened and Nathan heard his father's voice.

"Hello?" Keith Scott's voice rang out through the house.

"Hey, dad," Nathan called from the living room. His large footsteps headed down the hall and in a few seconds, he was in the room with them.

"Nathan. Oh, hello," Keith said, his gaze immediately falling upon the stranger in the house.

"Dad, this is Haley," Nathan said. Keith's widened his eyes in recognition.

"You mean the girl that you brought to the hospital?" he asked. Haley got up and leaned on her good leg.

"That's me. Though nowadays, I go by Haley James," she replied. Keith chuckled and shook her outstretched hand.

"A girl with a sense of humour," Keith commented looking at Nathan in approval. Nathan turned his head away to hide his blush from Haley. Then, his mom poked her out of the kitchen.

"Dinner's almost ready. Nathan, is your friend staying for dinner?" Karen Scott asked. Nathan looked at Haley questioningly and almost pleadingly. Haley smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, Mom," Nathan replied. Karen said she'd set another place.

"Thanks, Mrs. Scott," Haley called.

"So you're actually going to eat with the rest of us?" Lucas asked as he and Brooke came down the stairs, through the living room and entered the dining room.

"I was thinking about it," Nathan said and then shifting his weight. Haley came over, slipped her hand in his and folded it over his and tightened her grasp. It was a silent promise that she would be there for him. He smiled down at her and helped her into the kitchen, even pulling out her chair for him.

"And they say chivalry is dead," Haley teased. Nathan glared down at her.

"Just saving the silverware. If you tried to get into your own chair with your leg, you'd probably trip and bring the dishes and glasses crashing down on top of you," Nathan joked. The others laughed, including Haley, but not before glaring at him.

"You know, they say that lack of coordination is hereditary," Brooke commented. Haley looked at her. "Are the people in your family uncoordinated?" Nathan shot an annoyed glare in her direction.

"I don't know," Haley replied stiffly.

"How could you not know?" Karen asked in confusion. Haley looked at Nathan helplessly.

"What is your problem, Brooke?" Nathan asked, glaring at his ex-girlfriend. Brooke shrugged innocently.

"I'm only trying to make conversation. Not all of us have the inside scoop on Haley or advantages that the rest of us do," Brooke replied.

"What are you talking about?" Nathan demanded.

"I think you know," Brooke replied. She glanced at Haley and then at Nathan. Then she looked down further, appearing to look at the food on the table but was really looking at something else, and brought her eyes back and raised a suggestive eyebrow at Nathan. He got up from the table, grabbed Brooke by the wrist and led her out into the hall.

"Do you have a problem with Haley?" Nathan asked.

"No problem with her," Brooke replied.

"Then why are you trying to hurt her in front of my parents just because you think she and I slept together?" Nathan asked. Brooke's eyes widened at the admission.

"So you have slept with her?" Brooke asked. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Not that it's any of your business, but, no we haven't. And even if we did, what's it to you?" Nathan asked.

Brooke didn't answer for a minute. "You seem to be moving on from me pretty quickly," she replied. Nathan laughed at her.

"Are you kidding me? You cheated on me with my own brother and now _you're_ pissed at me because I'm moving on?" Nathan asked.

"I wasn't the one that ended our relationship, Nathan. You broke up with me," Brooke retorted.

"Unbelievable!" Nathan exclaimed, raising his arms in a gesture. Then he turned back to her and his face grew serious. "That was the only choice to make, Brooke. I couldn't be with you after you betrayed me like that. I can't be with you if I can't trust you." Brooke's face visibly changed to hurt as he threw her own words back at her.

One time at the beginning of their relationship, before Nathan had become the good guy that stood before her, he had cheated on her. Then when she caught them together, he begged for her forgiveness and instead she broke up with him giving him the same explanation.

"Besides, on the time capsule, you said that you loved Lucas. Are you telling me that you don't?" Nathan asked.

"No. I do love Lucas," she replied.

"Then what's the problem?" Nathan asked, shrugging.

"It's going to take a while before I get used to seeing you with other girls, Nathan," Brooke said and she knew it sounded ridiculous given the fact that she was the one who cheated on him. Nathan nodded.

"I understand that. It wasn't easy for me to see you and Lucas together," he said.

"And now it is?" Brooke asked, looking at him in confusion. He looked at her. "Do you forgive us?"

Nathan sighed heavily. "I won't say that I forgive you because it's just too soon to go that far. I'll say that I understand what it's like to want something that seems near impossible to have," he said, looking away. Brooke followed his gaze into the kitchen.

"Like Haley, perhaps?" she asked. Nathan nodded slowly.

"I like her," Nathan said. Brooke swallowed hard but listened. "I like her a lot but it doesn't matter. She doesn't see me as anything more than a friend." Brooke looked back at Haley's smiling face as Mrs. Scott was telling a story.

"Maybe," Brooke said. Nathan looked at her in confusion. "Haley strikes me as vulnerable and because of that, she's pretty guarded around people. From what Neil said about her in his capsule, she's had a pretty tough life."

"From what she's said, she has," Nathan said.

"So it's hard for her to trust new people. Give her some time. Then, maybe you'll be able to tell if she likes you too. I don't know about the way you like her, but I can tell that she trusts you," Brooke said.

◊◊◊

_A week later…_

"Come on, Nathan," Haley said as they walked into her apartment. They had just come back from a day at the river court. It turned out that Haley actually knew at thing or two about basketball. She wasn't the best player, especially given her damaged knee. She could at least make a basket or two. So they had played a friendly game of 21.

Haley had stood in one spot the whole time since she was still in a cast and couldn't do any running, and they took turns throwing the ball into the basket. Nathan had won, of course, but Haley had at least gotten 19 baskets.

"Thanks for hanging out with me," he said. Haley smiled.

"No problem. Thanks for getting the ball when I threw it in the river," Haley said and laughed at the annoyed look that crossed his face.

"Where did you learn to shoot a basket?" Nathan asked.

"Whitey taught me," Haley replied. Nathan nodded in understanding.

"Didn't try to get you to actually play the game properly?" Nathan asked.

"Once or twice. I suck at the actual game and I hated it. I've always loved 21 because all I have to do is stand and shoot," Haley said.

"No pond or anything at Whitey's I hope," Nathan said. Haley just started laughing hysterically as she limped over to the table and leaned against it. Nathan looked at her for a second. She caught him staring and widened her eyes.

"What?" she asked. Nathan snapped back to life and swallowed his insecurity.

"I'm going to do something that's probably going to seem pretty presumptuous," Nathan said as he closed the distance between them.

"What are you talking about…?" Haley started to ask but she was silenced by his lips pressing against hers.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Nathan cupped her face. Then he wrapped one arm around her slender waist, he anchored her against him as he continued to explore the inner workings of Haley's mouth. Haley was lost in the kiss and the new emotions overcoming her. Nathan pulled away from her and leaned his head against hers. His breathing came out in sharp, ragged breaths. He smiled at her and leaned down to kiss her again.

Haley shrank back and un-entangled herself from him. She walked a few feet away from him, into the kitchen and kept her back to him. He walked to the doorway and studied her posture. It wasn't very revealing. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Haley sighed and faced him.

"Nathan, I think you got the wrong idea about me," she said. His eyes clouded with confusion. "I don't know how to say this, but it needs to be said." Nathan nodded.

"It's ok. I understand," he said.

"You do?" Haley asked.

"Yeah. You don't look at me like that," Nathan said. She cocked her head to the side.

"Like that?" she repeated.

"Well, I am attracted to you, Haley," he admitted. Her eyes widened slightly but Nathan didn't notice. "I've been waiting for the right time to make a move and I thought that was it. But I realize that you don't share my feelings so I'm sorry." Haley was silent. They held each other's gazes for a while until Haley started laughing.

"You think I'm not attracted to you?" she asked.

"Yeah. I admit that I'm not used to rejection from females but it has happened once or twice. I do recognize that some girls just aren't into jocks," he said. Haley was slightly offended.

"Nathan," she started but he ignored her.

"I usually know when a girl likes me. I thought that you did. I'm surprised that I was so wrong," he babbled. Haley chuckled at him.

"You're cute when you babble," she commented.

"I guess now I should really pay closer attention. Wait. Did you just say I'm cute?" he continued and looked up at her questioningly. Haley's smile widened.

"You weren't wrong," she said.

"I wasn't?" he asked. Then he looked at her. "About what?"

"Me. I do share your attraction only I'm attracted to you. Not myself," Haley said, scrunching her eyebrows towards the end of her sentence. Perhaps she realized how unusual it sounded.

Nathan digested her words and then straightened his posture. "So then why did you pull away?" he asked. Haley avoided his gaze. "Are you scared?"

"Not exactly. I don't think you're ready for another relationship, Nathan," Haley said.

"What? Of course I am," Nathan said.

"No. You want to be. But," she said, casting a knowing look in his direction, "you're not quite there yet."

"I appreciate the concern, Haley, but I think I know when I'm ready for something," he said. Haley shook her head dismissively.

"Except that you're not. You can't see it because you're in it," she said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Nathan, you were with Brooke for a long time and your relationship meant a lot to you. I know you cared about her a lot. You became a completely different person in order to be with her. Those kind of feelings don't just disappear over night," Haley said.

"Well, when your…" Nathan started, but it was as if she could read his mind.

"Not even with a betrayal as big as cheating on you with your brother," Haley interjected. Nathan shook his head in disbelief.

"You're wrong," he said.

"When the shots rang out, where were you?" Haley asked.

"I was in the weight room with Lucas," he replied.

"That's on the other side of the school," Haley pointed out. She was talking about the tutoring centre.

"Well, I went to look for Brooke," he said. Haley's eyes widened and nodded.

"Exactly. And you knew about her and Lucas then. But when there was trouble, she was the first thing on your mind. Your instincts were to save the one you love," she said.

"That was a long time ago," he said. Haley smirked.

"It wasn't that long ago," Haley pointed out.

"Even if I still have feelings for Brooke, that doesn't necessarily mean that I want her back," he said.

"And I'm not saying that it does," Haley said.

"I'm confused," he admitted. Haley looked at him. "What exactly are you trying to tell me?"

"I'm saying that you need to figure out what it is that you want. If you really want to be with me, you can't have doubts about your relationship with Brooke. I refuse to be what you settle for," she said. Her voice was breaking a little.

"Haley, you could never be what anyone settles for," he said. She smiled at him.

"Thanks. But if you do decide to be with Brooke, I'll still be here for you. In the capacity of a friend of course. I won't hold it against you and I won't hate you," Haley said and Nathan knew that she meant it. One of the first things she had ever told him was how she didn't judge people. Nathan nodded.

"That's nice of you, but it's not necessary. I don't _want_ Brooke. I want _you_," Nathan said.

"And I sincerely hope that's true, but I need you to be certain, Nathan. Because I don't think I can handle a broken heart on top of everything else," Haley said. He nodded.

"All right. If that's what you want," he said sadly.

"It's what I _need_," Haley said. Nathan looked up at her. "I like you a lot; Nathan and I want to be with you. But I need to _know_ that you _really_ want to be with me."

"I get it and I'll think about it really hard. Just don't be surprised if I end up being right," he said confidently. There was a self-assured gleam in his ocean-blue eyes which caused Haley to roll her own hazel eyes.

"Overconfident, cocky, son of a…" Haley started but he silenced her with a kiss. When the kiss ended, she glared at him. "That's _not_ fair." He smiled and looked at her for a second.

"See you later, Hales," he said with a wink as he left her apartment. That wink made Haley's smile widen as she turned back around and busied herself.


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Well, they're taking things slow but they're not screeching to a halt. A little Naley in this one and you're gonna love it. Don't scroll down. Also, a secret is and another plot development are revealed. Pay attention. See if you can catch the development. Leave some words. Enjoy **_:)

Chapter 10

Haley walked around school fairly despite the fact that her leg was still in a cast. She made it to the tutoring centre a good five minutes before the bell rang. "Peyton?" Haley said, looking at her in surprise.

"Oh, hi, Haley!" Peyton Jagielski exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Haley asked.

"I needed to talk to you," she said.

"Having trouble with one of your classes?" Haley asked.

"No, trouble with my husband," Peyton replied almost sadly.

"I'm a tutor, not a counsellor. I don't know how much help I'll be," Haley said. Peyton laughed.

"Not that kind of trouble," Peyton said.

"Then what's going on?" Haley asked.

"I know you have a lot on your plate with your own life and the people you're already tutoring," she began.

"Peyton," Haley said. Peyton looked up at her. "What's up?"

"Jake is failing English," she began. Haley nodded. "And he has too much pride to come and ask you for help so I'm doing it for him. I was wondering if you'd be willing to tutor Jake in English."

"Sure. Tell him to come see me after school," Haley said.

"Oh, I can't do that," Peyton said.

"You can't?" Haley asked.

"No. If Jake found out that I went to you behind his back, he'd be embarrassed. Do you think you could approach him, make something up about how you noticed he wasn't doing so well in English and offer to help him?" Peyton asked.

"Sure," Haley replied. Peyton jumped up and threw her arms around Haley, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Oh, thank you so much, Haley," Peyton squealed. Then she realized what she had just done and pulled away and cleared her throat. "I mean thanks." Haley closed her mouth and smiled but she could not hide that her shoulders were shaking with laughter. Peyton rolled her eyes and began grabbing her own books.

"You sure you're not pregnant again?" Haley teased. Peyton froze and dropped her pencil case back onto the table. She looked at Haley warningly and Haley looked at her in astonishment. "Are you pregnant?"

"Yes," Peyton admitted. Haley started to congratulate her but Peyton cut her off. "And I haven't told anyone yet, including Jake, so I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself." Haley nodded.

"You can trust me, Peyton. I, of all people, know what it's like to want to keep my personal life private," Haley said. Peyton nodded and her gaze fell to Haley's knee.

"How are you doing?" she asked. Haley shrugged.

"Fine," she replied.

"I heard a rumour that Tim's in jail," Peyton said. Her gaze was full of worry.

"Beats me," Haley said.

"You don't know?" Peyton asked. Haley shook her head. "That's kind of strange. I mean, you're the only living victim of his. One would think that the police would contact you." Haley scoffed.

"I'm hardly a victim. Tim wasn't aiming for me," Haley said.

"How do you know?" Peyton asked.

"Because he shot towards the jocks and the bullet ricocheted off of the lockers and hit me," Haley said.

"Whether you were an intended victim isn't the issue. You were still shot by the gun that Tim fired and brought into the school," Peyton pointed out.

"W-what are you saying?" Haley asked.

"Nothing. Just that you're probably a material witness," Peyton said casually.

"Meaning I'd have to testify?" Haley asked.

"Definitely," Peyton replied.

Haley shook her head dismissively. "Oh, I don't think so," she said.

"What?" Peyton asked.

"I can't testify again," Haley replied.

"Again? Haley, what are you talking about?" Peyton asked.

"Nothing. I'll go find Jake," Haley said.

◊◊◊

Jake and Nathan were walking out of the locker room and turned down another hallway. "Jake!" Haley called out. Jake's face wrinkled with confusion as he turned to look at Haley.

"Yeah?" he asked. Haley came up to them a few seconds later sighed. She shot a small smile to Nathan and then turned her attention to Jake.

"I need to talk to you," Haley said.

"Ok. What's up?" he asked. Haley looked to Nathan and then back at Jake.

"It might be better to talk alone," she said. Nathan couldn't help but feel a little insulted but nodded.

"Catch you later, Jagielski," Nathan said and shot a questioning glance at Haley.

"What's going on?" Jake asked.

"I was marking some of the English exams that took place last week today," Haley started.

"Uh-huh," Jake said.

"Well, I marked yours and you didn't do very well," she said. He looked at her in surprise. "In fact, you failed. So, I went and took a look at other marks in that class and I noticed you're not doing very well in it."

"What's your point?" he snapped.

"I don't normally do this in the middle of a semester but if you want help, I could tutor you," she said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"I'll think about it. Thanks, Haley," he said.

◊◊◊

"So, if you don't mind me asking, Nate, what's going on between you and Haley?" Lucas asked one night a few days later. They had started talking again lately. It wasn't to say that Nathan had completely forgiven Lucas because he hadn't but recent events had persuaded him to remember that Lucas was his brother. Nathan glared at him. "Is asking about her pushing it?"

"Just as long as you don't start dating her before I even do," Nathan replied. Lucas looked away for a second.

"I guess I had that one coming," Lucas said.

"You did," Nathan said, not sugar-coating the truth that Lucas knew all too well. Nathan was the one that had been wronged in this situation. He had every right to stick it in his brother's face.

"Are you going to answer?" Lucas asked.

"We're taking some time," Nathan replied cryptically.

"What does that mean?" Lucas pressed.

"I wish I knew," he confessed. Lucas looked at him and Nathan explained the situation.

"She really does have a lot of trust issues," Lucas commented. His tone sounded almost mocking but Nathan couldn't tell.

"It's not like she doesn't have reason to have issues," Nathan said defensively.

"I'm not saying that she doesn't. It's just that I think her reasons have more to do with being afraid to trust you or let you in. Not because you might still have feelings for Brooke," Lucas said.

"Which I don't," Nathan said.

"That's good to hear but I'm not the one you should be telling that to," Lucas said.

"I agreed to give her some time," Nathan said.

"It's been a week," Luke pointed out.

"So?" Nathan asked.

"That's a lot of time. Maybe you should go talk to her," Lucas said.

◊◊◊

Haley opened her apartment door. "Nathan, it's after ten. What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I want to talk," Nathan said. Haley stepped back and he walked inside and followed her to the living room.

"About what?" she asked as she sat down on the couch and turned her television off.

"About my decision," he replied. Haley nodded. Nathan opened his mouth to tell her but thought better and closed it. Haley looked at him expectantly and then started to nod slowly as if she was getting ready for the possibility of rejection.

Nathan launched forward and captured her lips in a powerful kiss that he hoped conveyed his decision. He broke the kiss and pulled away just far enough to see her mouth form a huge smile. "Message received," she remarked. He laughed and kissed her again.

"So you accept my choice? You're not going to try to convince me that I'm in denial again?" he asked. Haley rolled her eyes.

"I believe that you've thought it through and I'm glad that you're not an idiot because I didn't want to have to convince myself that I was better off without you or that there's other fish in the sea or any of that other mumbo jumbo people tell themselves to deal with rejection," Haley said.

"You're a funny one," he commented.

"And you're now dating me. So what does that say about you?" she retorted.

"That I'm hopeless?" he offered. Haley slapped him on the shoulder and he laughed. "Kidding, of course."

"Better be," she warned. He pulled her into another kiss and a few minutes later they were watching television while curled up on her couch.

"Hey," he said.

"Huh?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him.

"I told you I was right," he said. Haley rolled her eyes, kissed him and went back to watching the television.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

_3 months later…_

"So, what do you think about going to see a movie tonight?" Nathan asked Haley as they sat together on the couch of their apartment. Of course "sat" wasn't an accurate description. Nathan was sitting on the couch and Haley was lying down with her head on a pillow that sat in his lap.

He ran his finger through her hair as he looked down at her for an answer. "That sounds nice," she said half-heartedly. Nathan sensed it and he scrunched his eyebrows as he looked at her closely. Her eyes had a faraway look to them. She was staring at the table and Nathan turned his head to see what was so fascinating. Her eyes rested on the remote to the television but she didn't seem concentrated on it. In fact, she appeared to be looking through the remote. And Nathan realized she wasn't really listening to him. He smiled mischievously.

"So, I thought we'd see the third _X-Men_ and maybe invite Brooke and Lucas. You know, like a double date," he said. Haley nodded absentmindedly. "I also rented a hotel room for tonight so I thought we could go there afterwards and then see what happens."

"We don't have to go to a hotel room. That's just a waste of money. We could just come back here," she said, referring to her apartment.

"What?" he exclaimed. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to keep himself from bursting into hysterics. Haley shrugged.

"Well, it just seems ridiculous to go to a hotel when I have my own apartment," Haley said matter of fact. She looked up at him and noticed that his lips were pursed and she said, "Wait a minute." Haley wrinkled her brow as she went through the conversation in her mind.

"Hey," she said, as her eyes went wide with shock and she slapped him on the chest. Nathan couldn't control it anymore and he erupted into a fit of laughter as he pulled her closer and hugged her.

"That's just to show you that you should always listen to me when I'm talking. Never stare off like that," he said.

"Don't ever tease me like that again," she whined and started to get up but Nathan anchored her back down and planted a kiss on her lips.

"I'm sorry, Hales. I just couldn't help it. It was irresistible," Nathan said.

"You weren't actually serious about inviting Brooke and Lucas to come along with us, were you?" she asked. Nathan shook his head and she relaxed against him again.

"So what's on your mind?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"What has you staring off into space like that?" he asked as if it were obvious.

"It's nothing," she replied quickly. Too quickly.

"_Haley_," Nathan started. She looked up at him questioningly. "You can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

"Of course," Haley said.

"Then what's bothering you?" he asked. Haley's hard demeanour came down and she looked at him. Nathan felt an alarm go off in his head because he could see the fear in her eyes and he'd never seen her afraid. Even during the shooting.

"The DA called today," she replied simply, "Tim's trial is starting next week and he wants me to testify."

"Yeah," Nathan said and then he saw her panicked expression. "What's the problem?"

"The shooting happened because people started picking on Tim for who he was. People taunted him everyday and some were people who I used to think were his friends," Haley said.

"What's your point?" Nathan asked.

"Tim never did anything to me," Haley said.

"Except shoot you in the leg," Nathan reminded her. Haley rolled her eyes. "Twice."

"It wasn't like he was aiming for me," she pointed out.

"That doesn't matter, Hales. He put innocent lives in danger. One of them being yours," he said almost angrily. Haley looked at him in surprise. She didn't think he'd get so fired up. Nathan realized that his tone was rough and he softened. "You almost died that night."

"I know," Haley said.

"And Neil did die," Nathan added. Haley nodded.

"I know," she repeated, her eyes cast down.

"Then what's the problem?" Nathan asked.

"I just don't want to be responsible for ruining another person's life," Haley said.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. Haley sighed.

"About three years ago, I was placed in the home of a single father. His name was Doug Morris- he was divorced and he and his ex shared joint custody of his little girl who I would baby-sit while he was at work. He worked nights but I didn't stay there that long," Haley started.

"Uh-huh," Nathan said.

"Well, his ex, Helene- she was a piece of work. She cheated on Doug and remarried some hotshot ADA. Anyway, about two months after I left, she showed up at my new foster parents' place. She was hysterical; going on and on about how Doug was abusing their daughter the same way he abused her. She even showed me pictures that the hospital had made her take to document the abuse since she had filed a complaint with the DA and CPS. And I believed her," Haley said.

"What do you mean, you believed her?" Nathan asked.

"Well, I knew that Doug had a temper and it was one of the reasons I was pulled out of there. He had a tendency to overreact and blow things out of proportion. Like one time when I was late coming home after school to sit for Emily. I had asked one of our neighbours to take her for a few minutes but I never got a chance to explain that to him," Haley went on.

"Did he ever hit you?" Nathan asked.

"No, see that's the thing- he never laid a hand on me or Emily. Helene and her new husband made the whole thing up to get Doug out of the way and so Steve could adopt Emily. But I didn't find out about it until after the trial," Haley said.

"And you testified at his trial?" he asked. Haley nodded.

"They wanted me to talk about his temper. I thought that I was doing the right thing for Emily but it turned out I was just a pawn in Helene's twisted scheme to get Doug out of the picture," Haley said.

"So what happened when the prosecution found about it? Did they release Doug?" Nathan asked. Haley laughed bitterly.

"They didn't uncover the truth until a year ago and the DA didn't think there was enough evidence to help free him," Haley replied.

"So he's still in prison?" Nathan asked. Haley nodded.

"All because of me," Haley said. Nathan looked at her sympathetically.

"You were only doing what you thought was right. Anyone in your position would have done the same thing," Nathan said.

"But I didn't even consider Doug's side," Haley said.

"That's because you were concerned for Emily. And even if you had, you could never have been positive that he didn't abuse her," Nathan said.

"I just don't want to destroy someone…" Haley started but Nathan grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"The situations are completely different. Tim took a loaded gun and shot up a school because people were bullying him. You can feel sorry for him all you want, Hales. That doesn't make him innocent," Nathan said.

"If Neil hadn't revealed that he was gay and people hadn't ridiculed him because of it, the shooting never would have happened," Haley pointed out.

"Probably not but the shooting did happen. And someone died because of it remember? You were an unintended victim but Neil wasn't. Tim murdered him in cold blood because Neil spilled the beans," Nathan said.

"I know you're right. I just can't help but think about what I did to Doug," Haley said.

"I understand that, Hales, but Tim is not Doug and so he does not deserve your sympathy especially since he nearly killed you in his quest for vengeance. Think about what you would've missed out on had you died," Nathan said. Haley was still with silence.

She turned to him and Nathan could see the tears in her eyes. "I'm glad you were there to get me to the hospital," she said and kissed him.


	12. Chapter 12

_**I love writing trial parts and that's what this chapter basically is. I am a big fan of legal thrillers (books) and I love all the Law & Orders except Trial By Jury which is kind of ironic. I also love other legal-type shows and I'm pretty sure that shows in this chapter. Well, leave me some words. Enjoy** :D Katy_

**Chapter 12**

"The People call Miss Haley James to the stand, Your Honour," ADA Mike Braun said. Haley got up from where she was sitting and stood near the bailiff.

"Place your left hand on the bible and raise your right hand," he instructed. His tone was indifferent and almost bored. You could certainly tell that he had done this before about a thousand times. Haley rolled her eyes at his tone but did what she was told.

"Do you solemnly swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but so help you God?" he asked.

"Yes, I do," Haley repeated in a much softer, gentle tone. It was almost as if she were purposely mocking him.

"You make take the stand," the judge said. Haley walked up the small steps and sat down in the rather uncomfortable chair. The ADA approached her and put his hands on the bar in front of her as he leaned in close.

"Hello, Miss James. Thank you for coming," he said.

"You're welcome," Haley replied grudgingly. She fixed with him a glare that made it clear that she was being sarcastic. This was the last place she wanted to be and she wouldn't be if it weren't the right thing to do or if the ADA hadn't threatened to subpoena her to testify.

"I'm just going to ask you a few simple questions. Most will require a simple 'yes' or 'no'," the ADA explained as if she were a three-year-old. Right away, she was offended at the notion that she didn't know what she was supposed to do. The idiot had prepped her the day before. Was he really that forgetful?

"Objection; the prosecutor is leading the witness," the defence attorney said, shooting up out of his chair as if it were a race to see who could stand up first.

"Overruled," the judge said with as annoyance washed over his wrinkled features.

"What happened on the day that led you to being here?" the prosecutor asked.

"There was an incident at my school," she replied with a small, almost invisible, smile tugging at her lips. Haley might have realized that this was the right thing to do but that didn't mean she was going to make the jerk's job easy.

"What sort of incident?" Braun asked fixing her with a glare.

"A violent one," Haley replied.

"Miss James, I'm going to have to ask you to stop evading the question," the judge said. Haley turned to the judge.

"I'm not. I'm answering the questions. He said that most of them would require a simple 'yes' or 'no'. So far that hasn't happened. I must admit that I'm a little flustered by having to answer in full sentences," Haley replied, feigning innocence. There was burst of laughter in the courtroom. Even the judge smiled at her.

"Nevertheless, we have more people scheduled to appear today. If you don't mind, I would like this to be done in a timely fashion," he said. Haley nodded.

"Same question," Braun said.

"A student brought a gun to school and open fired on the other students," Haley replied.

"What kind of gun?" Braun asked.

"A nine millimetre," Haley replied.

"How do you know that?" Braun asked, looking at her quizzically. The jury turned to look at her too. It was as if they were surprised that she would know about guns. 

"The bullets that they pulled out of my knee were for a nine mil," she explained.

"Oh. Wait a minute. Did you say pulled out of your knee?" he asked, looking at the jury. _Ooh how slick!_ Haley thought.

"Yes, I was one of the students that were shot," Haley replied.

"One of?" he repeated. He walked towards the jury. "To your knowledge, how many students were shot?"

"Two. Myself and another student named Neil Young," she replied.

"And what happened to Neil?" Braun asked.

"He was killed," Haley said.

"Now you said they pulled 'bullets' out of your knee. So there was more than one?" Braun asked.

"Yeah, I was shot twice," Haley replied, nodding.

"By whom?" he asked.

"Tim Smith," Haley replied.

"Uh-huh. And do you see Mr. Smith in the courtroom today?" Braun asked.

"Yeah, he's right over there," Haley replied, pointing to the defence table.

"And what did you do to Tim?" Braun asked, smiling. Haley frowned.

"Excuse me?" Haley asked.

"Well, he must have had a reason for shooting you. Something you might have done or said to him that provoked him to use such extraordinary means and shoot you twice. What was it?" he asked.

"I never said or did anything negative to Tim and I resent the implication," Haley replied roughly.

"So you were an innocent bystander?" Braun asked a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Yes, I most certainly was. Tim brought a gun into school to get revenge on the people who were terrorizing him for being gay ever since Neil revealed it in his time capsule," Haley replied.

Braun opened his mouth to ask her a question and as if she read his mind, she leaned forward, glared at him and said, "But I was not one of those people."

"No further questions," Braun said in satisfaction as he went back to sit down. He shot an arrogant smile to the defence attorney. Haley frowned at his back.

Nathan had to smile at the frown on Haley's face. He noticed the smirk that the ADA had shot Tim's attorney and he knew why Haley was unhappy about it. Braun was acting as if Haley had just won his case for him. One thing Nathan knew for sure was that Haley would not be used as a pawn in someone else's game. She hated being taken advantage of and she despised people that used her as a means to an end.

In this case, Haley was not on anyone's side despite her supposed "victim" status. When Nathan thought of Haley, victim didn't even make his list of words to describe her. She was tough and she always managed to have the last laugh. That's how he knew that Haley wasn't going to help the ADA crucify Tim but she wasn't going to help the defence absolve him either.

The defence attorney, Shay Knight approached Haley slowly and stopped a few feet away from her. She gave Haley a once-over and then smiled. She had to give this woman credit. She certainly had a way of making her presence known. Haley figured that this little stunt was meant to intimidate her but at this, Knight had failed miserably.

"So you never said or did anything to Tim?" Knight asked.

"No," Haley replied.

"How did you know him then?" Knight asked, shrugging suggestively.

"I didn't," Haley said, shaking her head.

"Then why would he shoot you?" Knight asked.

"Tim wasn't aiming for me," Haley replied. Knight lifted her head and pounced on that.

"I'm sorry. He _wasn't _aiming for you?" Knight asked.

"No. He was aiming for a group of students but he kind of has bad aim. The bullets ricocheted off the lockers and hit me in the knee," Haley replied.

"They ricocheted off of the wall and hit you?" Knight repeated.

"Yeah. Lucky me," Haley joked. The jury laughed.

"So you're not really a victim are you?" Knight asked.

"I never claimed to be," Haley said.

"Did you know Neil Young?" Knight asked.

"Yes," Haley replied.

"Were you friends?" Knight asked. Haley scoffed.

"Uh, no," she said.

"Then how did you know him?" Knight asked.

"I tutored him," Haley replied.

"And by that, you think you know him?" Knight asked.

"What can I say? I'm very thorough when it comes to tutoring. Helping my tutorees solve their personal problems makes them trust me," Haley replied almost sarcastically. She was clearly mimicking the lawyer.

"But you didn't notice that Neil was unstable?" Knight asked.

"I'm not a shrink," Haley replied.

"But you did interact with him on a daily basis," Knight said accusingly.

"Yeah for a month three months ago," Haley retorted.

"Did you like Neil?" Knight asked.

"No, I didn't like him at all," Haley replied.

"That seems like a horrible thing to say about the dead," Knight said.

"You asked me a question and I answered honestly. But for the sake of argument, I think it would be more insulting if I said I liked him just because he's dead," Haley replied.

"Why didn't you like him?" Knight asked.

"He was mean and full of bitterness," Haley replied.

"How so?" Knight asked.

"On his time capsule, he revealed a bunch of information about a lot of people. He hurt more than just Tim. I know of about seven students that he devastated personally," Haley replied.

"Including your own secrets," Knight remarked.

"I wouldn't exactly call them secrets," Haley said.

"But you didn't tell anyone either," Knight said.

"No one asked and I'm not the type to volunteer the information. But that doesn't mean that I was hiding it either," Haley said.

"Then why did you cry?" Knight asked.

"I was upset," she said.

"Why?" Knight asked.

"Because I helped Neil and he told everyone that I was orphaned and unwanted. He actually said that my parents died in a car crash before I was born just to avoid being around me. How would you react to something so hateful?" Haley shot back.

"So…" Knight started.

"No, no, no. I'm not done," Haley replied.

"What?" Knight asked.

"I'm tired of being used in this. So let me say my peace and then you can ask me questions until kingdom come if you want," Haley said.

Knight looked to the judge who nodded. Haley had been up on the stand for more than thirty minutes and Nathan guessed that's why the judge was allowing it. "All right," Knight said.

Haley turned to the jury. "Do I think that Tim was wrong? Of course I do. I am one of the people he shot. Am I sorry Neil's dead?" she said and paused. Then she turned to Knight who was conveniently in front of the jury.

"Yes but I won't be sending flowers to his family anytime soon. I won't lose any sleep over it either. And," she said as she fixed Knight with a glare, "I won't sit here and let you cast blame on me for something someone else did. Neil might have been an ass but he didn't deserve to die for it. Tim might have been wronged but he didn't have to use a gun and open fire on innocent people to exact revenge. You can try to blame his parents, me and other students for not realizing how bad Neil was or for tormenting Tim the way they did but it's fruitless. Nobody forced a gun into Tim's hand and nobody forced him to shoot Neil either. It's Tim's fault not ours."

Knight swallowed uncomfortably and nodded. "No further questions for this witness," she said quietly.

"The witness is excused. You may step down," the judge said and Haley did so happily.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Remind me to never get on your bad side," Nathan teased as they went out to lunch at his mom's café.

"What are you talking about?" Haley asked, giving him a confused look.

"You were very, well, I guess I would say 'forceful' on the stand today," he replied. Haley paled.

"Was it really that bad?" she asked in concern.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Haley sat down opposite him and ordered her food.

"Well, I was just so angry that I had to be there in the first place. It's not like my testimony will put him away or anything. All I did was repeat facts that the jury's already heard. But both of them just seemed so cocky and I reacted. Did I come on too strong?" she replied.

"Oh, Hales, don't worry about it. I'm not teasing you or anything. I think you did a good job. You're usually so poised but seeing you so obviously flustered like that and dropping your guard was interesting for me," Nathan replied. Haley widened her eyes in surprise.

"Really?" she asked.

"If you want to know the truth, it actually kind of turned me on," he said, smiling and he winked at her. Haley rolled her eyes.

"Down boy," she said and laughed as Nathan's face fell. Then, the back door swung open and Peyton Jagielski stormed out and walked passed them. "Peyton?"

Peyton stopped in her tracks and turned around. When she saw who had called her, she sighed and plastered a smile on her face.

"Is everything okay?" Nathan asked. Peyton looked at Nathan with a reassuring glance but when her eyes drifted to Haley's, they lost the spark in them. Haley could see the sadness in them.

"Nathan?" Haley asked.

"Yeah," Nathan said.

"I mean this in the nicest and not-mad-at-you-way but would you mind getting lost?" Haley asked. Nathan's eyes widened as he looked at her in disbelief.

"What?" he asked. Haley smiled and gestured at Peyton, then the table and then at Nathan. Something seemed to click. He turned to Peyton. "Is Jake working today?"

"Yeah, he's in the back," Peyton said through clenched teeth. Nathan nodded and walked into the back of the café to talk with Jake. Haley looked at the seat across from her. Peyton smiled at her and sat down.

"What's wrong?" Haley asked.

"Jake knows about it," Peyton replied, looking down at her stomach. Haley followed her gaze curiously, and then smiled when the question registered.

"You finally told him, huh?" Haley said. Peyton narrowed her eyes.

"No," she said.

"Then how did he find out?" Haley asked, taking a bite of her food.

"My doctor called to confirm my appointment," Peyton replied.

"And?" Haley asked.

"And Jake answered," Peyton finished. Haley's eyes widened.

"So that's how he found out?" Haley asked. Peyton nodded.

"Yeah, we were sitting together in the kitchen. He answered the phone. He chatted with them for a few minutes. I guess he thought they were calling to check up on Jenny or something. Then they asked him if he was excited to find out the sex of the baby. He dropped the phone," Peyton replied.

"Well, how did Jake take it?" Haley asked.

"Oh, he's thrilled about the baby," Peyton replied.

"That's good," Haley said, knowing that it would provide Peyton with little comfort because she wouldn't be so upset if Jake hadn't been upset about something.

"But he's pissed at me for not telling him," Peyton added.

"Oh," Haley said.

"I mean, it's not like I was keeping it from him," Peyton said.

"Except that you were," Haley pointed out.

"I mean, I wasn't going to hide it from him forever," Peyton corrected.

"Well, what were you going to do, deliver the baby and _then_ tell him you were pregnant?" Haley asked.

"You're not funny," Peyton said. Haley rolled her eyes.

"Hey, don't get mad at me. I'm not the one who told Jake," Haley said.

"That stupid woman she exclaimed. Then she looked up at Haley. "If I didn't need her to deliver my baby, I'd kill her."

"Frilly outfits?" Haley repeated.

"She has a store off the side of her practice selling her own line of maternity clothing. If you're a patient, you get a discount. And they're the ugliest things I've ever seen. Pink, blue, red and yellow are her favourite colour scheme. I cringed when she showed me a dress she designed," Peyton said.

"Ew," Haley said, imagining the dress. Peyton nodded.

"You have no idea," Peyton said.

"So what are you going to do?" Haley asked.

"I'm just going to buy maternity clothes from another store," Peyton replied.

"I meant about Jake," Haley said.

"Oh," Peyton said. She shrugged and shook her head.

"You're going to do something, right?" Haley asked.

"Like what? He's mad. I think he thought that part of the reason I didn't tell him was because maybe he thought I didn't want another child," Peyton said.

"You mean he thought you might have considered having an abortion?" Haley asked. Peyton remained unfazed.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Well, did you?" Haley asked. Peyton looked at her in confusion.

"Did I what?" Peyton asked.

"Did you think about abortion?" Haley asked.

"No, I want this baby," Peyton replied.

"Well, then, why didn't you tell Jake?" Haley asked.

"It's kind of a moot point now that he knows," Peyton said.

"Not to him," Haley pointed out. Peyton shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied. Haley frowned at her.

"Sure you do," Haley said skeptically.

"Haley," Peyton said.

"Look, you don't have to tell me the reason, Peyton. I don't really care. But I think your husband does. And for the sake of your marriage, you might want to tell him," Haley said, getting up and walking out of the café.

"What the heck was that?" Peyton said, watching her walk away. She might be crazy, but she could have sworn that Haley was pissed off at her for some reason. A few minutes later, Nathan came out. His gaze faltered as he saw Peyton. "He told you, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did," Nathan replied. Peyton sighed.

"How is he?" she asked.

"He seems okay. I think he's hurt, though. You should probably talk to him," Nathan said.

"He won't listen to anything I have to say," she said.

"Well, try to talk to him. And if that doesn't work and he still doesn't listen, try harder," Nathan said.

"Thanks, Nathan," Peyton said.

"Where's Haley?" he asked.

"Oh, she stormed out of here in a huff a few minutes ago," Peyton replied.

"Why?" Nathan asked, concern filling his eyes instantly.

"I'm not very sure. It was very weird," Peyton said.

"Well, what happened?" Nathan asked.

"I was talking to her about Jake and our situation," Peyton said in a hushed voice. Clearly, she didn't want everyone knowing her business. Nathan nodded.

"And then what happened?" he asked.

"She asked me why I didn't tell Jake, I said I didn't know and she didn't believe me," Peyton replied.

"She didn't believe you?" Nathan asked. Peyton went on as if she hadn't heard him.

"And, ok, I do know why I didn't tell Jake but it's personal and I didn't want to tell her. She told me that she didn't care either way but that Jake might and then walked away," Peyton explained. Nathan nodded.

"It's because you lied to her when you said you didn't know," Nathan replied.

"Huh?" Peyton asked.

"Haley had to testify against Tim today and she said she felt like a piñata that the lawyers took turns hitting. I can't tell you the specifics but Tim's lawyer tried to pin it all on her in a way," Nathan said.

"I didn't try to pin my pregnancy on her," Peyton said, still not getting it.

"No, but you confided in her and then lied to her. She's not an easy person to lie to. Trust me," Nathan said.

"And so what if I lied to her?" Peyton asked.

"Well, Haley's been lied to before and testified at another before she found out the truth. And Tim's trial is making the baggage Haley's been carrying around for that. She's not really mad at you. She's mad at herself," Nathan said.

"So that's why she flipped out when I mentioned she might have to testify against Tim that day," Peyton said. She nodded in understanding because Haley's reaction had really confused her.

"Yeah," Nathan said.

"Is she going to be okay?" Peyton asked.

"She'll be fine. I'm going to go to her apartment to make sure of it," Nathan said. Peyton smiled.

"You know, you and Haley surprised me," Peyton called after him. Nathan turned around and looked at her quizzically.

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"Well, I thought you would think you were in love with Brooke forever," Peyton said. Nathan rolled his eyes at her teasing tone.

"I didn't," Nathan said.

"I still can't believe you used to think what you had with her was true love," Peyton said and laughed.

Nathan stood still for a minute and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. He thought of the past three months with Haley compared to the three years he'd been with Brooke and he had to laugh. "Boy, was I wrong," he said and flashed a smile in Peyton's direction and then walked out the door to see Haley.


	14. Chapter 14

_**So this is the last chapter. Hope you like it. Leave me some words. Enjoy**. :D Katy_

Chapter 14

"Why didn't you just tell me right away, Peyton?" Jake asked as his wife rejoined him in the back of the café.

"I had my reasons," she replied.

"Are you going to tell me?" he asked.

"You're going to think I'm stupid," Peyton replied.

"Peyton, come on. You know I would never think you were stupid. Would you just tell me what it was that was so huge that you didn' t tell me you were pregnant?" Jake exploded.

"I was scared!" she exclaimed.

"Scared?" he repeated.

"Yes, scared! I was scared about what we were going to do. We barely make enough money to support Jenny, how are we going to handle another baby? And would we survive it? Lots of couples have problems when children enter the equation and I know that we already have one but Jenny is what brought us closer together. I was scared that this pregnancy might tear us apart. And I wondered what I was going to do about school. Am I going to have to repeat tenth grade again?" she exploded.

"I had no idea," he said.

"Well, now you do. It had nothing to do with not loving you or not wanting this baby, blah, blah, blah," Peyton said.

"Peyton," Jake started.

"Peyton lost her spine for a while, freaked out and that's why she didn't tell you about the baby," she said, actually switching into the third person. Jake started chuckling. Peyton stopped her rambling and glared at him.

"And what the hell is so damn funny?" she demanded.

"You," Jake replied in between giggles.

"Huh?" Peyton asked.

"Taking in the third person is something you did when you were pregnant with Jenny. It was one of those weird quircks you had just when you were pregnant," Jake said.

"What's your point?" Peyton demanded.

"I think it's absolutely adorable," Jake said as he came over and kissed her. Peyton pulled away.

"So does this mean you forgive me?" she asked.

"For losing your spine?" he asked. She glared at him warningly and he quickly said, "Of course."

"So when we decided to go out to eat after court, I thought we were actually going to eat together," Nathan said as Haley opened her apartment door to him about twenty minutes after she left the café. He shrugged and said, "My mistake."

"I'm sorry for ditching you the way I did," she said as they sat down on the couch together.

"Mind telling me why you left?" he asked. Haley sighed as she shook her head.

"I really don't know why I reacted the way I did. Peyton had finished telling me something and she lied about part of it. I got angry and snapped at her and then I left. I overreacted," Haley said brokenly.

"Yeah, I know. Peyotn told me what happened and I know why you left," Nathan said.

"What, can you read minds now?" she asked.

"No, I'm insightful," he said.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Well, if I could read minds, then I wouldn't know why you left since you say you're not sure why," Nathan said.

"All right. Enlighten me, know-it-all. Tell me why I left," Haley said, leaning back and glancing at him in skeptical amusement.

"Well, I don't know the technical term for it since I'm not a shrink but I think it's like transference or something," Nathan said. Haley looked at him in confusion. "Tim's trial has let loose all the baggage you've been carrying around from Doug's trial."

"What does that have to do with Peyton?" Haley asked.

"Well, she lied to you and Doug's ex-wife lied to you and you were channeling your anger at her and directing it at Peyton," he said.

"Can't manage grade ten chemistry but you figured all that out?" Haley teased.

"We all have different strengths," Nathan reminded her.

"Psychology is not one of your strengths. I would have noticed after three and a half months of dating," Haley said.

"No, but knowing how to read people is one of my strengths. You learn a lot in my position," Nathan said.

"And what position are you in?" Haley asked.

"Well, you might have noticed that your boyfriend is a very popular guy and that requires me to know a bit about the people around me," Nathan said.

"Let's agree to disagree on that," Haley said.

"I am popular," Nathan said.

"In your head, maybe," Haley shot back. Nathan raised his eyebrows and started tickling her.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked as she giggled helplessly.

"Stop tickling me!" she exclaimed, trying to wriggle away from him but it was no use. He had her lying on the couch as he spread himself over her allowing himself better acess to tickle her in her more vulnerable places. She was trapped.

"Admit that I'm popular. I know you don't like to admit that there actually is such a thing as popular and unpopular but if you want to be able to get up again, you might want to reconsider," he said. Haley thought about giving in but her ego refused to allow her to conceed.

Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips onto hers. Nathan stopped tickling her instantly and responded. Haley opened her mouth and Nathan instantly deepend the kiss as he shoved his tongue into her mouth and started exploring the inner crevices. Then their tongues started dancing with one another.

Nathan slid his arm up Haley's shirt and ran his hand along the smooth skin of her back. He broke the kiss and started trailing small kisses down her face and onto her neck and he lingered there for a minute. Haley smiled and pulled his mouth back to hers as she started a little exploration of her own.

She unhooked one arm from around his neck and slid it under the front of his shirt. She put her hand to his chest and traced the outline of his nipple and then moved down to his abs. After a while, Nathan pulled away and looked at him.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"We need to stop," he replied starting to get up and pushing her hand away from him. Haley hooked both her arms around his stomach and pulled him back down against her.

"Why do we need to stop?" she asked, smirking. Nathan froze once he gathered her meaning. He then stared down at her and he made no attempt to hide the desire blazing in his eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked as she helped him take his shirt off.

"Yes," she replied quickly.

"Haley, I'm serious. You need to be absolutely certain," he said.

"You're trying to talk me out of having sex? This has got to be a first," Haley said and chuckled.

"I'm thinking about you here. Once you do this, you can never back," he said. Haley kissed him deeply with all the passion and desire she was feeling.

"I don't want to go back, Nathan. I want to go forward and I want to do it with you," she said against his lips.

"Okay," he said. He scooped her up off the couch, continued kissing her and the next thing she knew, he was laying her down on her bed.

Clothes were discarded, thrown all around the room. Nathan smiled as he looked her over. "Beautiful," he murmured as he kissed her again.

He left her mouth and began trailing kisses down her neck. Haley gasped as his mouth grazed her nipple. He held it between his teeth and sucked at it. Haley let out a soft moan as he moved to the other one and repeated the action.

Haley pulled him away and kissed him. She managed to roll them over so she was on top. She leaned down and kissed his chest deciding that pleasure was a two-way streak. Nathan groaned as her kissed neared the waistband of his boxers. He flipped her over and started kissing her again.

Haley smiled against his lips in delight. She was nowhere near Nathan's league especially since she had no experience whatsoever but she could still provoke such a reaction from him. Nathan pulled away for a minute. He got off the bed and looked for his jeans. He picked them up and grabbed a condom from inside one of the pockets. He removed his boxers and slid the condom on.

He rejoined Haley on the bed and smiled at her assuringly. Haley nodded and her eyes widened in feminine shock as he entered her. She cried out in pain but Nathan covered her mouth with his own.

His kiss was almost like an apology for the pain she was feeling as he pounded into her again and again. The pain subsided and she was overcome with pleasure that kept on building until eventually they exploded together.

Nathan collapsed onto her and they laid wrapped in each other's arms, still joined as if they were one, for a few minutes. Nathan tightened his arms around her, kissed her, pulled out of her and rolled onto his back beside her.

He turned to look at her and she smiled at him. He extended his arm. "Come here," he said. She moved over and laid her head against his chest as his arm closed over her. Haley laid her right arm across his stomach and let out a small sigh.

"Wow," she said. Nathan chuckled beneath her.

"Thanks," he said. Haley rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome," she said sarcastically. Nathan's arm tightened.

"I wasn't just talking about that, Haley. You were amazing," he said.

She raised her head about an inch to look at him. He was smiling at her. "It was perfect," she said as she kissed him.

"Agreed," he said.

"I love you," Haley said.

"I love you too," Nathan said and they drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

_2 months later…_

Since the time capsule had been released, the students were asked to refilm their capsules. Haley walked in and sat down in front of the camera with a huge smile on her face.She took a deep breath and began.

"So I'm Haley James. I'm a sophmore at Tree Hill High. I'm a tutor. And I'm an orphan. But more importantly, I'm finally happy. And it's because of an amazing guy named Nathan Scott. Our relationship may last and it might not but either way, I'll know what it feels like to truly be in love. That's more than some people ever get in their lives."

Nathan walked into the classroom. He came over to her. "I'm done," she said.

"Yeah, it's my turn now," he said.

"Ok," she said. He pushed record on he camera as he kissed her goodbye and then glanced back at the camera.

"So I'm Nathan Scott. I'm a sophmore and a basketball player on the senior team. I have no idea where I'm going with my life. I hope I'm going to continue to play b-ball but after the past few months, I've learned that nothing is set in stone." He paused as he glanced back at the door that Haley had walked out of not moments before.

"That was my girlfriend, Haley. We've been dating for about five months now and we got together after the school shooting. It's funny. Before I met Haley, I thought I knew what true love was. I thought I had it but I was wrong. What Haley and I have is true love and here's one thing I know for sure: I'm going to marry that girl one day."

He smiled and shut off the camera and walked out of the room to meet Haley at lunch. They were eating with Jake, Peyton, Brooke and Lucas.

_The End_


End file.
